Every Step I Take
by sleepinbunny
Summary: [NejiSakuSasu] “Every single time your heart tries to heal itself, and it has tried so hard, he comes and breaks it a little more. It’s not worth it… let him go…” … “I can’t.” … “Why is that?”…“Because I already have.”
1. Seeing You Again

**Every Step I Take**

_**By: sleepingbunny**_

**Disclaimer:** SB no ownee.

Present: "normal"

_Thoughts: 'italics'_

* * *

**Seeing You Again**

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

A stunning pink-haired goddess was currently roaming the streets looking for one place in particular. A wide grin was plastered on her face; she couldn't help but feel somewhat happy. She was currently skipping her way through a horde of people, though not literally of course, that would just be too weird.

Today was a very special day, no…it wasn't her birthday, nope…it's wasn't someone else, nope…no anniversary…she's not married…yet…

Wink-wink-nudge-nudge!

It was. It was…

LUNCH TIME!

(Laugh out loud. No really, it was.)

The divine beauty jumped in joy when she saw her final destination coming into view. Her stomach was doing little back flips so to speak.

THE RAMEN SHACK!

(Again. Not kidding.)

They were all supposed to be meeting there today; this was going to be the first time in years that the rookie nine and team 10 have been together for a long time.

They were all 22, minus team 10 who were 23 and at the height of their careers; their skills ranged from chunnin and above, in fact, most made it into Anbu.

Naruto was well on his way to becoming the next Hokage. He was just about done his training with one of the legendary sannin, Jiraiya. Over the years he has grown into a well… a ladies man, probably learning the 'playboy' ways from his pervert of a teacher. He was no longer the shortest out of team 7, now the tallest. 6 feet, lean, muscular, golden blond hunk, as all the village girls liked to put it.

Who knows who was getting more attention these days, Naruto or Sasuke?

Yes, they managed to retrieve him back from the creepy snake guy, you would think that he would be grateful for it but nooo…he was probably even colder than before, never speaking anymore than 3 words to anybody, which were basically, "Shut-up Dope."

He didn't really change much, in both appearance and emotions. Sasuke's hairstyle was the same but shorter at the back and his face unlike Naruto lost all of its former childhood looks. Naruto still kept his adorable baby face. He was taller though…but the fact of the matter was that he was still shorter than Naruto. In fact, when Naruto noticed this and tried to hold it against him…it wasn't all too pretty. The bump on his head never did go down…

All in all he was hot and everyone knew it.

Sakura had changed the most out of all of them. She was no longer the weak little girl everyone portrayed her as. Stripped of the little naïve twelve-year-old, she worked her ass off, striving to become stronger when "he" left, and successfully is now one of the leading kunoichi of Konoha.

Hell Ya!

It was even rumored that she was the nurse most perverts…um patients…yea…asked for when injured.

Stupid pervs.

Her exquisiteness, beauty, happy-go-lucky ways and scrumptiousness made her quite the catch…but if only all the male dummies in her life would actually take notice of all this.

No, they refused to actually see her as who she was. Images of a pretty little "damsel in distress" still swam in their minds. Although yes, there were times in which she was flirty and maybe a tad bit clingy, and hell, she could be really naggy at times – but hey! She was only female.

AND THANK GOD SHE WAS FEMALE!

Haruno Sakura had proved herself a changed woman. She was a jounin. Having passed her test 3 years ago, and when I mean passed – I mean passed with flying colors. She learned from the best of course – look at her teacher, the beautiful, and deadly, Tsunade-sama. She would have been a disgrace if she couldn't follow her footsteps – although the women did have a very big shadow that she was always casting around Sakura.

She would eventually grow out from it.

Through it all, she still was able to keep her elegant and carefree personality. She wore the same sweet smile on her face, and same innocent. Her slick and shiny pressed pink tresses fell across her face and down to her shoulders with poise. Her color had faded a bit, all those hours training in the heat and sun bathing must have taken its toil.

Her outfit also had change – to go along with her new personality of course! Baggy black pants with a shoulder-cut white top fit nicely on her. She liked to mix and match, occasionally changing her shirt to a blue t-shirt or pink top that showed off her features very nicely. She wore different pairs of high heels – having own a large collection, but usually wore white sandals. Her nails were French-manicured, sometimes painted a pale pink to match her fair skin, her hair pulled back in little clips and brushed out. All of the accessories just seem to add to her beauty.

Unique and shy, she was considered one of the most sought out women in Konoha, having a massive fan club rivaling Sasuke's and even Neji's, which is saying quite a lot.

Most men tried to court her, but she turned down every one, always telling the same excuse, "I just don't have time, sorry." Many still believed that she had a crush on a certain Anbu captain, but no one has ever confirmed it…yet.

Yes, she did like Sasuke, but her past infatuation, '_it was just a crush!'_ her inner self screamed at her, had long passed…or so she thought anyways…

She really was a sight to see.

She had it all; she was talented, intelligent, and well, hot. She was easily any man's dream girl, and wife, all except one…

"The one that matters," Sakura muttered darkly to herself giving a sneering smile. She just hated knowing it.

He never took a second glance at her. When he came back, she had laid off all the annoying squealing and unwanted asking out of dates. All she wanted was for the prodigy to notice her, and maybe to acknowledge her as his friend, to trust her, but he acted like he always did, pushing her away and putting her down. It made her sad, but she never once showed a tear.

Eventually, she gave up and treated him like everyone else, yet secretly pining for him, wanting for him to notice her. Maybe she was fooling herself; maybe she still loved him… Yupp, she was lying to herself, she did still love him, she just couldn't help it, he would always own a special part of her heart, maybe not her whole heart, but he will still be there… haunting her…she just couldn't let go.

So, there they all are, crammed into a small ramen bar, happily chatting away. She was the first to arrive, and the first to wait patiently for the others. Oh, how she wished she could see them again. Her thoughts somehow trailed to her ex-best friend, the pig.

Ino, the nerve of her, still tried to get Sasuke, but from what Sakura knew, he still turned her down. The two were reunited best friends, after Ino, seeing how Sakura stopped chasing after the Uchiha all those years ago.

You see, Sakura left the village for 3 years on a mission, to help out Mist, since Konoha just made a new alliance with them and everything. There she found out many strange things…things that changed her, but more about that later. She just returned a month ago and hasn't seen anyone since.

Sakura was part of the Maizuki clan. Her mother was actually the heir, but fell in love with Fay Haruno, her father, and ran away to live an exiled life here in Konoha. She had a distinct feeling that Tsunade-sama knew about this, and sent her away to Mist because of this, but she would never ask her why. To her, the matter just didn't concern her any longer, she never wanted to step foot back in Mist again.

"Sakura-Chan," a loud and obnoxious voice snapped her out of her pondering. "It's been so long," Sakura turned her head and smiled at the Anbu captain who had her in a bone-crushing hug.

"Naruto, you haven't changed at all," she laughed, "now put me down, idiot, I can't breathe."

"Umm… Ahaha," Naruto chuckled nervously, letting her go and allowing her some space. "So…how has it been, Sakura-Chan?" He sat down in the empty seat next to her.

"Good," she stated, and the two were left chatting for what seemed like hours while one by one more old faces started to enter the ramen stand, greeting each other and welcoming Sakura back from her successful mission.

At last everyone was there, except Ino and Sasuke.

'_Where is he? I thought we all agreed that we were supposed to meet here at 2?' _Sakura checked her watch; it was now 2:30. Sasuke was not one to be late.

Sakura was getting anxious, I mean who wouldn't be? She hasn't seen him for years. She just couldn't wait to see _her_ Sasuke again, even if she wasn't going to pounce on him and scream _'I love you with all my heart' _again. Oh… how that incident still brought tears to her eyes. She just tried to forget about that. '_It never happened'_ she tells herself. Whenever he says means things to her, it always reminds of that faithful night.

"Ahahaha…oh…Sasuke-kun, you're so silly!"

Sakura looked up with hopeful eyes when she heard his name being spoken.

"Ah"

She smiled when she heard his response. _'He hasn't changed a bit…'_

"Sasuke-kun let go. Stop it. Sasuke-kun," a very feminine voice called out playfully, like she was getting teased or something. "You are so weird Sasuke-kun."

Sakura's brow twitched, _'she called him…Sasuke-kun…' _Sakura was brought out of her thoughts when Ino and Sasuke entered the ramen stand.

Something was wrong, Sakura could tell from the moment they walked in.

What was it though?

'_Wait a minute did Ino and Sasuke just walk in together? Why are they holding hands? What's going on here?'_

Everyone was probably thinking the same thing as well, since they all stood staring opened mouthed at the two - everyone except Neji of course, who was too cool to show emotions, especially the element of surprise. He merely passed them a glance.

Naruto opened his mouth to probably welcome the pair when Ino's voice interrupted him.

"We're getting married!" She announced gleefully, showing off her large diamond ring, but rather yet staring at Sakura all at the same time.

Almost as if she wanted to shove it in her face.

There was silence and yet again, for the hundredth time, Sakura heard her already fragile heart breaking in two.

* * *

**(Y) ? (Y) ? (Y)**

**( - . - )( - . - )( - . - )**

**C ((")(") C ((")(") C ((")(") **

**Bunny POWER! **


	2. His Decision

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it. Please don't sue.

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**His Decision**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -**

Everyone was too surprised to say anything.

"Well? Aren't you guys going to congratulate us?" Ino said still looking directly at Sakura.

All of them expertly closed their wide-open jaws and muttered a vigorous congratulation.

Everyone that is, except for Sakura.

She remained quiet, looking slightly speechless.

"Hello…Earth to forehead girl? Aren't you going to congrats us?"

She looked up in amazement and uttered a tiny apology and quickly looked down at her food, like she was too ashamed to stare into her eyes…

With a fake smile she looked up at Ino's eager face and tried to block out all the unfriendly thoughts that were running through her head. She composed all of her mental training into not crying at this point. She took at deep gulp and practically beamed at the attractive blonde. "Yea… Congratulation Ino, Sasuke." She didn't look at him at all. "I hope the best for you two."

It was one of the most hurtful things she had ever had to say and it was one of the saddest things anyone has ever heard.

"Jeez… Thanks forehead girl, it means a lot," Ino said arrogantly as she sat down by Sasuke-kun's side, moving her seat ever so closely towards him as if wanting to rub it in even more. "I mean, here I am winning the guy of our dreams and you actually have the nerve to congratulate me, you really are something Sakura," she boasted proudly.

Everyone was looking to Ino from Sakura to Sasuke. They were all waiting for the tornado that was sure to come as the form of a very pissed off Haruno Sakura.

They all closed their eyes and held their breath.

…_1…_

…_2…_

Any second now…

…_3…_

Any second…

…_4…_

Just any second…

…_5…_

When nothing happened they all slowly opened their eyes and braved for the disaster.

Instead of a hurricane they were met by a gently breeze.

"Yeah… right. You won Ino, you really did win. You successfully beat me." She sure had grown up quite a bit, something as petty as this wasn't going to get to her. "Looks like you successfully ensnarled the Uchiha." Sakura laughed playfully.

Ino's daring expression soon turned to one in astonishment. She looked as if Sakura had slapped her than congratulate her. She was shocked. She expected Sakura to have a fit and run out the restaurant pronto – crying her eyes out.

This was… most unexpected.

"Well… Shouldn't you two order? We have a lot to talk about Ino-pig," she winked, breaking Ino from her thoughts. She quickly snuck a glace at her beloved Sasuke-kun, the one who unknowingly broke her heart for the second time straight.

She felt her eyes soften and felt her heart wrench just at the sight of him. He looked the same… but yet different.

'_He had changed…'_

He was still oblivious about the way he made her feel… it was either he knew or he just didn't care.

She smirked at this_. 'He probably just doesn't care…' _She fought back tears at this thought.

How stupid she was to think that she had gotten over him, especially so quickly. She really did love him, even after all this time. The distance put between them just made her love for him grow into deeper heights. She loves him. She always did… That _was_ the real reason why she never bothered dating anyone else, the reason she was single for all those years… The reason she had turned _him _down.

'_He found love… I should be happy for him.'_

She tried to be… She really did, but the truth was that she just wasn't.

The fact if the matter is that Sakura really wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. She needed air, the room somehow just got stuffier. She found it very hard to concentrate and was well aware that her hand shook every so often. She gave one small sniffle, which did not go unnoticed by one very protective Hyuuga.

Of course he had picked Ino over her. Ino was picture perfect. She was clearly the better pick. Ino was mature; she developed curves and a killer body. Her platinum blonde hair was brushed out and tied up in a high ponytail just like before and she wore tight fitting clothes that hugged at her body.

She was a way better choice than Sakura.

She was stronger, prettier, braver… she came from an honored family… and was one of the most sought out women in Konoha.

Sakura just didn't compare to her.

She too was strong, pretty, and hell, she was even brave – but she would never be what Ino was. She didn't really know what the difference was between them – them being roughly around the same size and rank, but there was something about her that made Sakura look incredibility small… or so she thought.

"Oh…_Sasukee-kunn_ let me help you with that."

Sakura inertly cringed at her loud obnoxious voice. If she had to sit there and endure one more hour of _'Sasuke-kun's'_ and loud squeaks of concerns pointed at his direction, she would lose it.

Everyone congratulated the pair and the men gave Sasuke quick pats on the back and loud 'You go man!' type of shouts, (you know… the thing guys usually do…). The lone Uchiha merely grunted and ordered while ignoring all the praise he was getting.

Ino on the other hand was making the best out of the situation. She did not want to stop talking about it. She would casually roll her ring finger around, making the stunning diamond glitter in the sunlight and positioned it openly on her hand so that anyone who came three feet of her would not miss it. The rock was frigging huge!

Sakura couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. She knew she shouldn't be but she was, she just couldn't help it. The green monster had taken the best of her, and Ino was just tempting it to come out and play.

"I just can't believe that your getting married! I always thought that Hinata would be the first!" A brown-haired woman named Tenten assumed excitedly, eagerly staring at the gigantic rock.

"I am happy for you Ino-san," a petite shorthaired woman said.

"Thanks Tenten, Hinata, Forehead girl."

"No problem"

"Your welcome."

"Hmm…"

The excited blonde grinned and started to make wedding arrangements. "Well… I haven't decided on the number of bridesmaids yet, but you guys are definitely going to be there."

"Oh really? I would love to!" Tenten shrieked with joy. "I've never been in a wedding before."

"It would be an honor to be in the wedding."

"Terrific, just terrific," the soon-to-be-bride grinned happily."And so the wedding will be in a month and we will have - "

"What?" Sakura practically yelled. She seemed to have zoned out on the blonde and missed out on the details of the upcoming wedding.

"We will have roses there. For the love of god Forehead, pay attention!" The blonde scolded. She did not want anything to go wrong on her wedding day.

"No, what did you say before that." Sakura said sheepishly.

"Oh… the wedding will be in a month."

"What?"

"Oh for god sakes, THE WEDDING WILL BE HELD IN A MONTH!" The fuming woman screamed.

"A month?" Sakura choked, "don't you think that is a bit…unreasonable?"

The blonde gave the pink head a careful gaze. "Yes." She stated, "In fact, I think that that is too late, your absolutely right Forehead girl, the wedding should be in 2 weeks."

Sakura was left dumbfounded… _'That is not what I meant…'_

"In fact… I was hoping that you would be my maid of honor Sakura, you're my best friend after all."

Sakura nearly gasped at this, her…The maid of honor? She was slowly assessing the farfetched idea. What an awful predicament she was in.

'_I can't say no… Then she would think that I still love him… Which I do… But I can't tell her that! I don't want to ruin the wedding.'_

She already knew what she had to do. With a heavy heart Sakura plastered on her fake smile and readily accepted. "Of course I will be your maid of honor – you're my best friend after all."

Ino's smile shone brightly at Sakura. To her amazement, Sakura noticed that this smile was so much different from all the previous ones she had given.

This was Ino's true smile.

'_What was going on?'_

"Thanks Sakura-Chan, it means a lot to me to hear you say that." Ino was tearing at the sides and Sakura herself was heartbroken just staring at the weeping woman in front of her.

Something was wrong, and Ino needed her best friend at the moment. She felt terrible at the fact that she was seriously debating whether or not to even attend the wedding at first. Ino needed her best friend right now, and Sakura was here.

She wasn't going to let her down.

All of a sudden Sakura was engulfed into a tight hug. It took her off guard and she kindly patted her back. "We'll talk later," she whispered delicately into her ear. She saw Ino's eyes widen and she slowly nodded.

Only a real best friend knew when something was wrong, no matter how hard the other worked to cover it up. They weren't best friends for nothing you know.

They broke apart and this time, Sakura made a vow to really try to be happy for her best friend, no matter how much of a show-off she was.

Ino started to wipe away all the excess tears that escaped and muttered a curse about her running mascara.

Sakura gave off a small chuckle and carefully looked at her mixed up best friend, giving her a reassuring smile, glad that she was there.

'_Don't worry Ino-Chan, you don't have to worry, I won't ruin your wedding day.'_

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -**

She was walking towards him, trying to make as much noise as possible to indicate her arrival.

She sat down next to him and gave him a small smile. He merely regarded her and went back to his brooding. Her face fell from his cruel ignorance. He still thought of her as nothing more than a dense little child who still held an infatuation over him. This bothered her.

"Hey"

He glanced at her.

"Ah"

She secretly grinned at his response. Maybe he didn't change that much…

She swung her legs at the side of the bridge. "So…" She wanted to congratulate him and tell him that she accepted his decision; after all, she was still his teammate and regarded him as one of her closest friends even if he didn't. "Your getting married…"

"Leave me alone." His words meant to cut deep.

"But… I…"

"Go bother someone else."

Her eyes widen. "I was just was going to - "

"I don't need to hear your stupid declaration of love."

She was rendered speechless. Did he really think that lowly of her?

"Or your insignificant prospects of _'us'_."

She remained quiet, staring at her hands.

"Do not think that anything you say will stop me from marrying her. _Do not_ embarrass yourself."

"Sasuke…"

He glared at her. "I do not love you, and I never will."

She was practically weeping on the inside. There was a moment of silence before she answered, "I know," she said sadly, "I guess it is just time to grow up… right?"

He said nothing, and didn't even seem to have heard her.

She smiled weakly; she knew better then to think that he had gone deaf. He heard her; he just didn't care.

"That's why you're marrying her… right?"

He glared at her and a slight irritated sound ran through his throat. "I do not love her," he finally admitted.

Her mouth dropped open and a stunned expression took over her face. "Then why are you marrying her?"

His gaze tightened. His eyes narrowed slightly as if it was bothersome just to answer her. "I am marrying her because she is not you."

She felt her heart practically break again. How could he be so cruel?

She looked up at him and gave him another weak smile. "I came here not to bother you or smother you in hugs and kisses but rather… I came here to congratulate you." She fluttered her eyelashes a couple of times trying to hold back the tears that threatened to drown her face. "I just wanted to tell you that I accept your decision and will no longer bother you."

"I will never love someone like you." he directed to her in a soft, slow, whisper, intending to hurt her spirit. It was the last thing she heard from him before he disappeared from beside her in a puff of smoke.

Now that he was gone, she finally allowed the tears to leak gradually down her face.

'_But I will always love you… Sasuke-kun.'_

She stared off across the horizon, the wind playing gleefully with her hair.

It was time for her to forget about him.

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**(Y)?(Y)?(Y)**

**( -.- )(-. -)( -.-)**

**((")(")c((")(")c((")(")**

**Bunny POWER!**


	3. Enter the Hero

**A/N:** Feeling dizzy…

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**Enter the Hero**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -**

She was sitting alone in her small apartment ripping a Kleenex into shreds staring off into the darkness.

She was just staring, unmoving.

Every so often she would reach out for another soft Kleenexes to destroy.

It was official.

Haruno Sakura was sad… or possible disturbed.

The pink medic was sitting comfortably with her arms hugging her knees on the floor in front of her sofa. A warm light green blanket was draped around her and a bunch of different junk food items was scattered around on the floor.

Everything from chips to popcorn, pop cans to the dreaded chocolate flavored ice cream littered the pale carpet. Several sad dramatic movies and romance novels were also flung into the big heap as well.

It was official.

Haruno Sakura was sad… and currently vegging.

She had locked herself inside her newly rented apartment for 2 days straight, not coming out for anyone… Not that anyone bothered her of course. No one remembered about the poor little kunoichi, who just wasted years of her life on a mission to save the village.

Noo… Her sacrifice meant nothing.

She was nothing.

Everyone was too busy preparing for the upcoming wedding to notice the sad little kounichi who suddenly decided to lock herself in her room.

Strangely enough, the whole town was invited for the ceremony. Something she would have never expected from the Uchiha. In her eyes, he always seemed like the more reserved type than to the more open one. She always figured that he would have wanted a small wedding other then a massive one.

Oh well… It seems that Ino won that battle. _'Yea… Go girl power…' _her inner self mumbled sarcastically.

She popped in the saddest movie she owned, which was about a man leaving the woman he said he loved for some other wench.

It was just perfect for her situation.

She was half way through the movie and half way through a box of cream filled chocolates when one of the worst scenes of the whole movie came up.

"I love you," the man in the film said.

"LIAR!" Sakura screamed as she threw her half eaten coconut flavored chocolate at the TV screen.

There was no need to say it.

Haruno Sakura was pathetic.

She already knew it.

She wanted to kick the shit out of the bastard actor who played the shitty so called _'prince charming' _in the movie. How dare he lie to the beautiful princess…Apple? Okay, fine she didn't remember the ugly princess's name, but so what? Actions speak louder than words, and she remembered what she looked like. That is what counted most…Right?

Sakura growled out in frustration and started to pull on her hair. Sasuke never even loved her! Why was she getting so worked up?

This was so complicated.

And now she was jealous of princess…Apple…for getting her prince to actually love her, whereas Sakura couldn't even get hers to not twitch in annoyance whenever she approached.

How she envied the foolish bitch.

"I love you more than anything else in the world."

"You do?"

"Yes."

"Oh…Charming."

Sakura scoffed. She couldn't even stop herself from rolling her eyes at the piece of trash. Before she would have been awing right along with her, but now, she just pitied her.

Men lie. She learned this the hard way.

Somewhere in the story when the prince pronounced his love for the princess and where he leaves her for another woman, she started to drift off into a heavy snooze. Her head lazily rolled back onto the many plush pillows she had around her and she closed her eyes.

She awoke moments later by an irritating banging noise.

"_Rapp."_

"_Rapp."_

"_Rapp."_

Someone was at the door.

She cursed them and reached for the remote. She turned up the volume and rolled over. The banging noise didn't stop and she wasn't going to get the door. I mean…Duh… She was vegging. There was no way in hell she was going to stop vegging to open the door for an unwelcome guest.

She was nice, but she wasn't that nice.

The volume was soon cranked up to the maximum. The only problem with this was that the noise was making her ears hurt. After a few minutes she couldn't take it any longer and turned the volume to mute. She smiled victoriously when the banging stopped.

The idiot finally left.

She yawned and covered herself with the blanket. "Hopefully it wasn't anything important," she mumbled in half sleep.

It startled her when she heard a noise in the other room. It sounded just like the sound of breaking glass. She didn't pay too much attention to it. She had left some ice cream out and she figured that it had probably just slid off the counter because of all the melting.

'_Ew.'_ She cringed at the thought of the nasty warm pile of ooze that was waiting for her to clean up.

There were no worries until she thought she heard the sounds of someone trying to force their way inside her window… Realization began to sink in and she realized that… OH MY GOD… She was being robbed!

She quickly tried to hide herself among all the pillows. Needless to say, she wasn't very smart.

(This is what 2 days of constant junk food digesting can do to you.)

She heard footsteps entering the living room and she crouched as low as she could behind the couch hoping that the night prowler wouldn't see her.

She wanted to remain hidden.

"Heh, are you always so dimwitted Haruno?" A deep voice chuckled at her.

_Maybe she did get hers in the end…_

"Neji?" She gasped. "What are you doing here?" She slowly got out from her squatting position.

He did not speak or answer. He merely stared. He could not believe that she was reduced to living like this…

Her stunned expression soon turned to an angered one. "Who the hell do you think you are?" She glared at him. "What makes you think that you can just barge inside a young woman's apartment in the dead of night?" She didn't even wait for an answer. "You nearly scared me half to death! I thought you were a burglar!" She narrowed her eyes and shot him an accusing stare. "Why the hell are you -?"

He silenced her with one hand and started to slowly walk towards her.

He was getting closer and closer.

Now he was almost a few inches in front of her…and he wasn't stopping. Closer and closer he came, she could see his face clearly now, he was a bit pale and he showed no signs of stopping his advance any time soon. He smirked when he saw her start to pinch her arm – obviously she thought that he was just some sort of hallucination she was having – a very bad dream.

He will show her that she is wrong.

He leaned in and his lips brushed past her ears. He leisurely reached his hand out and carefully tucked of strand of her untidy hair neatly behind her ears.

She let out a silent sigh. She really thought that he was about to kiss her.

"I believe I am Neji." He said huskily into her ear. "And I also believe that you didn't seem to care as much the last time I showed up in your room."

She turned beat red at his words and started stammering.

"I… I… I…Never mind about that!" She screamed. "You still aren't suppose -"

He interrupted her by leaning in and kissing her slowly and gently.

She was lost in the kiss, but somehow her mind knocked some sense into her. She hurriedly broke out of the kiss and slid right onto her couch and picked up a pillow to separate any space between them.

"I was worried about you."

Small tears slid down her face.

"I'm sorry." He bowed his head. "I shouldn't have done that."

It angered her that he was apologizing.

He closed in on her and made a move to wipe the tear off her face when she slapped his hand away.

"Leave me alone." She hissed.

"Sakura" he said still moving in.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she cried.

He stopped in his tracks and slowly removed his hand from her face.

She hugged the pillow closer to her chest.

"I see… I will leave you some time to think. I will perhaps see you later?" he inquired.

She nodded and he backed away from the woman in front of him.

"What you are… doing…" He waved his hand around her apartment to show her the mess. "It is not healthy for you. You should take a shower and eat a proper meal." He looked pointly at the empty boxes of ice-cream cakes near the TV.

She looked up at him and nodded. " Alright… I think I'm done vegging now."

He fixed her a crucial stare, as if he thought she was crazy. Obviously he had no idea what 'vegging' meant.

(Vegging – the action you do in the period of time you take to get over someone. … My definition of vegging… Not even 100 percent sure vegging is a word…But… Just go with it.)

He made up his mind. He was going to comfort the crying maiden in front of him. He was going to make her see that the Uchiha wasn't the only man for her.

She didn't have to fall.

He was also there, waiting to catch her.

"…Sakura," the man said hesitantly.

She looked up, and her tears quieted.

"I should have told you this when I first met you."

He paused for a moment and stared at her angelic face, her lovely eyelashes fluttered with each blink. She gently bit her lower lip, staring right back at him.

"What is it Hyuuga?" She said this coldly, breaking him from his thoughts.

He let out a deep sigh and knelt down to take her hands into his. Her attention was totally focused on him. The next few words out of his mouth were spoken with his deepest sympathy and littered with pity.

She looked up at him with weepy eyes.

"Every single time your heart tries to heal its' self, and it has tried so hard, he comes and breaks it a little more. It's not worth it… Let him go…" He spoke slowly and cautionary, stopping in between to show that he meant ever-single word.

Her expression, if possible, fell even more. She was falling – and no one was there to catch her.

"I can't."

"Why is that?"

"Because I already did."

He glanced at her for a moment, as if he was judging her.

"Then why are you crying?" He said before carefully sitting next to her, trying to comfort the poor broken hearted women.

_This was so unlike him._

The silence lasted for what seemed like forever until finally a whisper was heard.

"I don't know…"

He let out an irritated sigh. He wanted to just force the foolish woman to understand. Uchiha did not love her. He did! Why did she have to make this so confusing?

"He enjoys seeing your pained face every day, he likes seeing you suffer. It's almost like he _wants_ to hurt you. He is not worth it anymore… Just leave him be. He _does not_ love you." He spoke with harshness and brutality, his voice trying to stuff any and all sense of reason into her brain.

He paused and waited for the broken hearted woman's response.

No doubt, it would not be a good one.

She didn't know why, but those few words hurt her deeply. She felt her heart ache unimaginably. Her hand subconsciously clutched her chest. Her hand found the spot where her heart was to be found and she mentally shut her eyes.

She needed a moment to think. His words hurt – and they hurt deep. It was like a knife scraping through butter - she was being spread around, toyed with, and what made it worst was that she allowed it to happen.

"Sakura… Let him go."

Her eyebrows arched. Her expression was one of total confusion. "I love him… I always will. No matter what."

He sighed, "I know…"

The silence rang on for what seemed like hours and she slowly rested her head on his shoulder.

"I have no idea what to do anymore," she whispered into the dark. "I came back wanting something that I now know I can never have."

Out of everything that had happened she did still know one thing for sure – one thing that she would never be able to tell him. Although she really did love him, a part of her heart was still dedicated to _him_. He would always be there, even if he didn't know it…for he also held a small part of her heart.

'_I'm still in love with you. I think I always was and I always will.'_

'_I will never forget you.'_

'_You mean too much to me.'_

_I love you too… Neji-kun…_

…

"I know how you feel…" A low murmur answered.

They sat together for hours, reminiscing about the good old days.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm sad… I just recently found out that one of my friends was diagnosed with cancer. I went to visit a few of times and my heart almost broke at the sight of her. I just want to go into a corner and cry… I'm such a bad friend, I feel bad that I didn't notice anything. She is one of the nicest people on earth and I cannot believe that this is happening to her. She had so many surgeries and blood transfusions and so many things done to her already. I'm scared for her. Yesterday I learned that she needs a bone marrow transplant, which is really hard to get.

**I have hope.**

**I am praying.**

I love you my little PP.

This story shall be dedicated to you and your increasing health. You're an amazing person with a kind heart. Even though you will probably never read this, I really do love you. You are my PP, and I am glad I met you and that I am your friend.

Get Well Soon.

Love M.

* * *

**(Y)?(Y)?(Y)**

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**Bunny POWER!**


	4. Three Years

**A/N: **Thank you for all the heart-warming reviews, I love them. And thank you for not eating me for not updating faster.

* * *

**Three Years**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -**

To: Haruno Sakura

158 Maple Road

Konoha, Fire

K5N9H7

Her hands shook lightly when she opened the envelope properly addressed to her. After ripping it open a small card fell out of it…

'_Oh god…'_

Sakura stared long and hard at her invitation.

She knew this was coming, but seeing it written on paper just made the realization greater, made it worst.

She hastily flung the leafy paper away and rubbed her sore forehead.

She had a major migraine… and it wasn't going away.

She fell back onto her couch and put her head in her hands. She sniffled back a sob and pulled back her messy hair. It had been 2 days, 2 days from when she promised herself no more vegging.

"June 30th …June 30th … I have 3 days…" She silently congratulated herself for being so brave. Against her better judgments, she had transformed herself into a terrific bridesmaid. She had gone shopping for the wedding, bought them a nice blender, which they would probably never use, and she kept a cheerful attitude whenever she was around Ino.

It was only the nice thing to do.

…But she never really found out the reason why they were together…yet… Or the reason Ino seemed so sad about marrying the lone Uchiha.

When they were younger, the pair would gossip and brag about their wedding and most importantly their future husbands.

_A younger Sakura and Ino are sitting together in the grass surrounded by bunches of beautiful flowers._

_Ino is facing the sunset while Sakura fidgets to get comfortable. _

_She turns around and smiles at Sakura, "Neh Forehead."_

"_Hum?" _

_She picks up a tulip from the field. "Don't you love flowers?" She brings it close to her face and smells it, and then cheekily smiles, "I just love them." She twirls them around. "When I grow up, there are going to be a bunch of flowers in my wedding. I'll have all different types of roses and orchids and the church will be littered with beautiful flowers as far as the eye can see." Chibi Ino let out a happy sigh. "And my husband will be so pretty!" she squeaks._

_Sakura stares at her best friend in awe._

"_He'll wear a black tux and he'll be smiling at me when I walk up to him and he'll just be," she lay down in the grass with the tulips in between her fingers. "He'll be perfect…just perfect." She let out a content sigh, "…exactly what I want." She turns and gives Sakura a dreamy stare. "Everything I have always dreamed of…" _

"_Wow…that sounds amazing…" _

"_I know ay…how about you Sakura?"_

"_Huh? Me?" She gave Ino a puzzled stare, " Well…" Sakura sat scratching her head for a while. "I don't really care what he looks like, as long as I love him." She gave a nervous smile. "I don't know…I never thought about it before. I always wanted a small wedding to tell you the truth." _

"_A small wedding?"_

_The pink head slowly nodded her head with a smile. "I want a small wedding…somewhere on a hill or by the water."_

_The blonde spared a glace at her best friend, "ah...so then what will he be like?" Her eyes glittered with curiosity._

_She thought about this for a moment before beginning, "I'm not sure…I guess I want him to be strong and brave, and…dreamy. She stares off into the distance. "…Someone I love very much." _

_The blonde smiled and lay back down, curling her toes between the fresh dew in the grass. Sakura fell opposite her best friend and lay down so their heads are faced each other. _

"_Neh, Ino-Chan," she tilts her head back to get a better view._

"_What?"_

"_You'll defiantly be at my wedding?"_

"_Yeah, of course! How could you think that I would miss my own best friend's wedding?" She putted on a shocked expression. She smirked, "and you'll definitely be at mine."_

_She waited for the girl to nod her head. "You betcha!"_

"_That is if I even invite you of course!" She winks._

"_Ino-pig!"_

"_Forehead girl!"_

_The girls lay giggling in the grass without a worry in the air._

The card confirmed what her mind was trying to block out. This was it, it was really happening.

Sakura tumbled on her couch and took a deep breath.

"…He's getting married."

Invisible tears rolled down her cheek.

"He's really getting married."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ino had been busy for the past couple of days. She made invitations, got them printed; shopped for bridesmaid dresses and went wedding dress hunting. She basically planned the whole wedding and her soon-to-be-husband wasn't helping one bit.

Her ears perked up when she thought she heard the sound of the front door opening. She ran to greet him by the door and gave him a cheerful smile. She was sure if she asked he would help out with the planning, after all, couples like doing things together.

"Sasuke-kun, I was wondering if you wou -"

"Shut up" he hissed.

"But…Um…"

He gave her a stern look, "I'm tired. I'm not interested in hearing your loud obnoxious voice right now."

"But…the wedding…"

He shot her a cruel stare. "I don't care," he walked towards his room. "Do whatever you want."

Ms. Uchiha Sasuke stood rooted to the spot staring at her fiancée's retreating back; she fingered the diamond ring gracefully and dropped her gaze. She took a deep painful breath and plastered on a fake cheerful smile and continued looking happy about marrying the man of her dreams.

Ino walked back into the living room and continued leafing through her many catalogs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

He was walking towards the village's market place, forced into buying a meaningless wedding present for the seemingly happiest couple in Konoha.

He let out a defeated cry. _'Damn my luck.' _He kicked a nearby soda can on the ground and grumbled his way into town.

The last few days weren't good ones for him. He, Hyuuga Neji, was turned down without even the slightest second glance. The words weren't spoken, but spoken in-between the lines was a stone cold rejection. Not that he proposed anything to her for that matter but her stern words clearly stated that there was no point in trying. He really thought he had a chance…especially after what happened all those years ago…

He mentally cursed himself, now was not the time to think of such things… He was so sure that she felt something for him also. He knew she did…but the question was why she was hiding them?

Did she still love the Uchiha? That was most obvious.

What they shared together was a secret romance in Mist. He had no idea why he was worrying over her… He shook his head and scolded himself for caring.

A soft voice rang inside his head, _'I came back wanting something that I now know I can never have.'_

Had he too come back searching for something that wasn't there? Had he miscalculated? He pondered for but a moment before brushing off the easy thought away.

She knew what he felt for her, it was no mystery. His late night visit proved that much.

'_She is so confusing…'_

The truth of the matter was that he couldn't careless about the Uchiha's upcoming wedding. It had been a bit of a shock when the soon to be Mrs. announced the impromptu date, he had never even known about their serious relationship until that day. Hell, he didn't even know they were in one.

'_Feh, it doesn't concern me.'_ He stuffed his hands in his pocket and continued making his way down to the local mall, images of blenders dancing in his head.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**Three Years Ago…**_

"Sakura!"

"NO! I'm not going! I want to stay here where I BELONG!" a young woman bellowed at the Hokage.

"…Sakura…" the older woman spoke more gently and brushed the woman's tears away, "I need you to do this…for me."

"I don't wanna."

Her brow arched at her apprentice's childish actions, "…not even for me?"

She sniffled and scrunched up her face making her lip quiver, "its not fair Tsunade-sama…its not fair…"

The older woman took her into her arms and gently patted her back in a warm embrace. "I know… I know…" she told her reassuringly, "I hate it too."

She rested her head on her shoulder and looked up adoringly to the woman she called her mother. She knew what she had to do. "How long?"

Her smile soon turned to one of dread, "…three years…"

Her daughter sighed and smiled cheekily up at her, "I'll miss you… Tsunade-sama…"

"…Sakura…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**Three Years Ago…**_

She was sent away to the beautiful land of Mist to negotiate a new treaty with their new leader.

(Can't remember which Kage it is…please spare me…)

She let escape a brilliant smile. At the age of 18, things couldn't have gotten better for the genjutsu master. She was young, talented, and still had potential. This was the reason why she was so mad when Tsunade announced her long-term departure so suddenly.

She wanted to stay and complete her training, she was close…so close to completing…

She sighed, "Oh well…I can wait a bit longer…" she stared off into the horizon when a deep voice broke her concentration.

"We're nearing the gates."

Sakura turned her head and looked toward her teammates. She was stationed with a team of 5 other men. They needed a medic and she, being the only free one, was shoved into the mission.

She readjusted her knapsack and heard whispering behind her.

"Thank god we are almost there." A tired voice rang out happily. "I need to get drunk…"

"Ahahaha, me too, I need some _entertainment_." The bald one so pointedly nudged the tanned one in the side and made some hooting noises.

Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes…Men were so juvenile.

"You're coming Sakura-Chan?" Her captain asked, having noticed her eavesdropping.

'_Hmm…maybe joining them won't be so bad…' _

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**Still Three Years Ago…**_

The bar was grimy, dim lighting lit the place, and the smell of drunken men stank the place. It was loud, lively, and just how a club should have been.

There was a group of prostitutes flirting shamelessly with a bunch of drunken men in one corner and in the other a pair were making out. The music was blaring and couples were packed on the dance floor moving to the sound of music.

But…in the mist of it all you could still hear the continuous sighs admitting from the young woman sitting up front.

Haruno Sakura was getting impatient.

Every so often she would glance in the direction of the exit, very much wanting to leave the dimly lit tavern. With a light drink in her hands she would occasionally tap her foot again the wooden counter.

"10:30," she checked her watch, "It is only 10:30." She gave off another irritated sigh and took a sip of the bitter tasting liquor.

She suppressed a shutter and stole a glance at her drunken teammates, half of which were embarrassing themselves on the dance floor.

She inertly groaned… It would be her who would have to haul their sorry asses back to the hotel.

She silently cursed herself for agreeing to join her male teammates in this little "outing". She should have known better, when they told her they wanted to go out she should have figured that they wanted to get drunk.

She rubbed her templates in relief when she heard one of her teammates brag to a prostitute about how "big" they were.

"Dumbass," she hissed at him from across the room. "You're _paying_ to sleep with her, you don't need to flirt with her first!" She shot the drunken idiot a glare before spinning her stool around.

Honestly, she was getting tired of this bullshit and did that whore just shoot her a dirty glare? Oh hell no.

'_Calm down Sakura…just breath.'_ She stopped herself from leaping off the counter and beating the shit out of the unsuspecting bimbo. The worst thing that could happen was to get into a fight. She didn't need that right now, she was supposed to get on good terms with Mist.

Why was she here again? Oh yeah…Because of her sensei… She was doing this for her sensei…

She gave her 1000th sigh and went back to being bored.

She zoned out for the last hour and so, having not even moved from her seat. "It must have been the alcohol," she mumbled in half sleep, her eyes getting pretty droopy.

She had to fend off a couple of perverted males from trying to take advantage of her state of mind.

Finally, at around midnight, she decided to call it a night. Without a word she excused herself from the conversation a bunch of pimps were trying to engage her in and shot off looking to collect her 5 drunken teammates.

It was a difficult task considering that she was having trouble walking, every so often she would bump into someone and mumble a quick apology before knocking into the next…honestly…when did the place get so crowded?

When she didn't see any of them she panicked. She didn't remember the way back to the hotel, and even if she did, how on earth was she supposed to walk back there drunk?

She gave one or more of her more popular sighs and made her way towards the exit, the silver sparkly high heels she was sporting hurting her feet with each step.

"Oh… and what's your name mister?" Her eyes twitched at the woman's high-pitched giggle.

"Do you really want to know?" A deep male's voice said mockingly.

Sakura quickly turned her head in the direction of the voice. It sounded just like… Sasuke-kun!

Green eyes met the form of a tall raven-haired man. It was Sasuke-kun! Her mood quickly brightened up at his presence.

'_It's Sasuke-kun!' _She totally had forgotten that his Anbu team was also residing in Mist for a while.

She gave him a wide smile; his team must have been there the whole time. She began walking towards him thanking the lord that she changed out of her disgusting medic uniform before hitting the bar.

She was wearing a plain black dress that had a dangerous shirt line. She mentally smirked at this thought, and she could almost see the large pack of men behind her drooling.

She stopped halfway towards him. It seemed that he hadn't sensed her presence yet… What should she do? She promised herself to stop chasing after the cold Uchiha, didn't she?

She was too busy debating whether or not to approach him that the dirty kiss that the brunette haired woman gave him went unnoticed in her eyes.

The slut was grinding herself against him for god sakes!

This action she did catch.

And what made her mood worse was that he wasn't doing anything to stop it from happening, he looked like he rather enjoyed the slut's company.

She cringed with disgust and walked back to her empty stool finding it deserted; the pimps must have left to find another drunken woman to bother.

She waited for the bartender to show up after ordering the strongest the place had. Whatever the stuff was, it was expensive and did its job well. After gulping down the first glass she had almost forgotten about running into the Uchiha, that is what she felt before hearing the brunette's loud moan from across the room.

Seriously, her voice could have wakened the dead. It was so annoying, and this is coming from a person who knows what an annoying voice sounded like, ahem, ahem, Ino dearest.

It seems that the two were now making out. They were laughing and having the time of their lives while Sakura was fighting her emotions.

'_What the hell am I jealous of? I'm not with him. He hates me…' _Tears welled up in her eyes and she quickly turned around so he wouldn't see her face.

She didn't want him to notice her now.

With a bottle in hand and an unlimited supply of liquor, Haruno Sakura was in the mood to drink her troubles away.

She turned her head away from the scene with repulsion, 'Damn Uchiha…'

The man next to her tilted his head back to indicate worry, "Is something wrong?" he inquired.

She quickly tried to hide her widened expression and faced the stoic face of the Hyuuga. She stared at him for but a moment; his silver eyes making her feel as if he was staring right through her. She mentally shuttered at the thought. "No, nothing," she shook her head. "Nothing at all."

Back luck was with her that night because as soon as she finished, an earsplitting laugh rang throughout the bar.

Neji slowly turned to face the cause of commotion and saw the woman's arms wrapped around the Uchiha. Realization came quick to him.

"Aa… So I see."

She hung her head in shame, for some reason she didn't want Neji to think that she was bothered by some random woman's affections towards her old teammate.

"Nothing's wrong."

His statement caught her off by surprise. She gave him a grateful smile, glad that he was humoring her.

"Thanks…Neji…" She whispered at him. She felt better that he didn't judge her and that he hadn't tried to comfort her in anyway.

"Aa." He said before he went back to his quiet drinking.

She took this moment to study the older man's face. Just like Sasuke-kun, Neji had also grown to be a handsome bachelor. From the rumors she heard in Konoha he was even harder to get then the heartthrob Uchiha. She giggled at this thought but shut up quickly when she saw the weird look Neji had given her.

Now was not a good time for her to act childish. She wasn't that much of a fool any longer.

She placed on her fake smile and took a swig from her glass.

Neji was in the books defined as a perfect catch. He was tall, dark, and handsome. Light bangs fell on his face and a shorter hairstyle was the most noticeable thing that had changed from his looks.

(I always imaged Neji-kun with spiked up bangs …drools…he's so hawt!)

His eyes still all seeing and his expression still so indecipherable.

He may as well be a bigger mystery than Sasuke-kun.

He was wearing a white sweater and black pants. 'White…the color of hope…'

Sakura stopped staring at him and ordered another glass and the two sat drinking with each other in silence.

After her 4th glass she decided that it was time to leave. She could no longer remember the reason she was still in the bar any longer. She was becoming increasingly dizzy with each glass. She slapped a large bill on the table and turned to her silent drinking partner.

She had downed a total of 7 glasses today… All of which was not a good thing.

"Hey Neji…" Her voice came out slurred and uneven.

Trust her to flirt with somebody when she was drunk.

He raised his head to look at her in an awkward manner.

"Will you walk me?" She gave him a seductive wink.

He was hesitant to answer but when he did she saw him give her a sly smile.

So he was also experiencing one of the many side effects of alcohol. He, like her, downed at least 7, if not more, glasses.

If the circumstances weren't what they were at the moment, Haruno Sakura would have laughed herself silly at the thought of a drunken Hyuuga. Well…mentally laugh of course, he would probably eat her If she dared to laugh at him…and also because she was a wimp and secretly scared of him and his freaky eyes.

He hastily got up from beside her, tripping a little bit over the stool, and offered her his hand.

She smiled. _'Even drunk he's still a gentleman.' _

The two made their way out of the bar and Sakura pained her throbbing forehead to remember the way back.

_If either one of them looked back they would have sensed the pair of deep red eyes following each one of their movements._

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**Again, Three Years …**_

They had shared one night with each other as lovers and in the morning he was gone…She had woken up to an empty bed and a note of apology stating that he left.

She was pretty pissed at him but that couldn't be helped. They both had a duty to their village to serve out and what they did together was nothing short of idiotic...or so she had thought anyways.

They both were lonely and bored…and so very drunk.

Maybe what they did was not the smartest thing in the world but it didn't really matter.

In the end Sakura couldn't help but remember not being the slightest bit mad at _Neji-kun_.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**Three years later…**_

She turned over on the couch and laid her forehead onto her knee and rolled herself into a small ball, gently rocking herself to sleep.

Haruno Sakura decided one thing at that moment, something she shouldn't have put off for so long.

She was going to forget about him…for good.

Right before dozing off to sleep a nagging question she was trying to avoid popped into her mind…

She lay confused staring at the unwelcome card the whole entire night.

'…_Who are you really trying to forget about?'_

* * *

**A/N:** Forgive SB for her lack of inspiration, she had been slow a bit lately…must have been that burrito… **shudders**… Who the hell puts sour cream and hot sauce in a taco? Yes, she ate it, unfortunately. It was one of the most disgusting things she has ever eaten. She still cringes at the thought of it. It was just, ew.

**Happy Clicking.**

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**Bunny POWER!**


	5. Her Wedding Day

**A/N: **I like this chapter. **Grin. **

* * *

**Her Wedding Day**

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

A wedding invitation sat crumpled on the ground in all its glory.

Scrunch marks and a footprint graced its silver embedded letters but if you squint closely enough, you could have still made out what it said…

…

_You are cordially invited to the wedding of:_

_Yamanaka Ino_

_And_

_Uchiha Sasuke_

_Date: June 30th 2006_

_Time: 6:00 pm_

_Place: Randolph Grey Cathedral_

…

Today was her wedding day.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The three days went and gone quickly. The church was set up and beautifully decorated. The guest list sent and received. The shops littered with vicious shoppers, all of whom were trying to make it to the cheapest blender. The caterers ordered and steamed up the menu dishes… Everyone was preparing for the very much anticipated, Uchiha-Yamanaka wedding.

"Oh… Sweetie!" A middle aged woman squealed at her partner. "Isn't it wonderful?"

He grunted out his answer, "Aa."

She let out another loud screech and hugged him around the middle. "I love you!" She smiled up at him.

"Ah." He replied softly, taking her arm and leading her down the path towards the glittering lights.

The pair walked arm and arm through the orchid and ivory field, not noticing the warm gaze of the woman behind them.

Sakura couldn't help but grin to herself when she heard those words… Somehow things like these just didn't bother her very much anymore.

She was proud of herself.

She was healing.

Walking up the carpeted steps, Haruno Sakura couldn't help but be amazed at what she saw. As she carefully took each step, approaching closer to the dazzling church, her heart suddenly stopped beating. It was so beautiful.

Damn… what Ino said about having a big wedding, she meant it. Sakura would have never imagined something like this.

The whole place was drenched in roses, from pink, to white, even blue. Sakura suspected that she must have ordered custom made flowers. It was quite classy really. Rose petals adorned the clean swept floor and a sleek silky white carpet covered the whole cathedral. It was beautiful. Silk drapes hung around on the ceilings and ice sculptures dazzled the hall. You couldn't have gone anywhere without being presented with something extraordinary.

"Wow," she awed, "it's so beautiful!"

"I know, ay?" a tall figure addressed her from behind. "It took weeks for us to decorate this place. Let me assure you, it was no simple task! My team had to pull a bunch of all-nighters!" She chuckled merrily, eyeing the pink head closely. "But as you can see the results are amazing!"

"Yeah…" the jade maiden agreed.

The wedding planner let out a happy sigh, "I'm a bit worried about the ice sculptures though… not sure if they will make it or not." She turned and looked at the lovely girl, seeing her nod her head in agreement. "Well… I'm just wondering... which side are you from? The bride's or the groom's?"

"T- The," she faltered, wondering. "Well… um, I'm." she stopped, a smile tugging at her soft lips.

She didn't know why this was taking so long for her to decide. Of course, of course, from the very beginning… she was from… "The bride's."

This was going to be a very difficult ceremony. She could already feel it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Running blindly down the stairs, Haruno Sakura was in a rush.

"Damnit!" She cursed, hiking up her slim fitting dress so she could move her legs faster.

"Stupid."

She took two steps.

"Goddamn."

She moved the long gown to the side, not wanting to get stub marks on it…just yet.

"Dress. – Ah!"

At this remark she fell forward and pitifully made an attempt to grasp the banister. Luckily someone was there to catch her. Or rather, luckily someone was there for her to fall on top of.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" She apologized immediately, bowing her head in shame. Now she would be even later. "I didn't look where I was going. I can be a total …" Her last few words began to fade until it was almost a whisper. "…Klutz"

She watched in shock as the person she used as a safety cushion got up and slowly began to dust off his black jacket.

"Neji-kun?" she asked timidly.

He stopped his dusting and turned around nodding once before poking her in the thigh once.

Her cheeks automatically burned from sheer embarrassment. "Oh! I'm so sorry" She began, getting off his legs so he could stand. "I didn't see you and I was in a hurry and I wasn't watching where I was going and this stupid dress -"

He silenced her with a hand. His eyes looked her up and down scrutinizing Sakura, making her nervous. (Hee, Neji's such a perv.)

"Um…" she started, not liking his gaze. "Well, I have to go now… bye." She spoke quickly turning around and hurrying down the stairs. Or well, she would have if it weren't for the arm that stopped her from doing so.

"You look beautiful Sakura." His soft voice spoke out, making her knees feel weak.

If possible she turned redder.

"I-I uh… I-I'm…" she stopped and composed her shaky self. "Thank you." She said, tugging a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

He nodded once and let go of her wrist. "I will see you at the reception."

She looked up at him and nodded. "Yes."

"Ah." He confirmed.

"SAKURA! WHAT THE HELL IS TAKING YOU SO LONG?" An angry voice thundered from the bottom of the steps.

She internally winced at the harshness of the voice. Tenten was mad. "COMING!" she called.

"YOU BETTER!"

She turned and gave Mr. Handsome a smile before bidding her farewell. "I got to go. I'll see you later Neji."

He nodded and she turned around, continuing her path stumbling down the stairs.

"SAKURA! YOU HAG! INO'S CALLING YOU!"

"I SAID I'M COMING!" Sakura screamed, annoyed.

In an instance she wished that she hadn't screeched those words out. In fact, she really wished that _he_ would stop staring. No really, his stare was getting uncomfortable.

She looked up at Neji having turned around and staring wide-eyed at her petite bellowing form. "Erm… I -" She turned even redder when she heard her voice echo off the walls earning her a soft smirk from the Hyuuga protégée.

She swallowed hard and timidly began to edge closer to the large fern plant close to her, having that feeling of 'wanting to crawl into a hole and die'.

Then, out of the blue… well maybe not, but close to it, something amazing happened. Hyuuga Neji, the wooden statue, laughed. And it wasn't just a chuckle or anything but a laugh. Simply put, it was a loud thunderous laugh.

Sakura almost smiled. Almost. If only it wasn't because he was laughing at her – wait, her mind started working overtime. He was laughing at her…

"– JERK!" She shouted hitting him on the arm hard with her purse.

Nope. None was safe from her short-temperedness, not anyone …not even him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Sakura!"

"What?"

"Come here. I need you!"

Sighing, the maid of honor moved her ass over to the bride's room. "What is it now?" She asked irritated.

Grumbling away, the tired pink head cursed her luck. Whatever the bride was pissed about she was going to take it out on her. Damn that caterer! She had specifically asked for lobster, LOB-STER. But nooo… the idiot goes and buys 400 different types of shrimps! How the hell did shrimp sound anything like lobster? She should have just fired this guy's sorry ass on the spot! Needless to say, she wasn't very happy about that. Fudge!

-

_Rubbing her forehead, the woman answering the phone call was getting pretty irritated. Little bits and pieces of her conversation were floating into the other room, for all the other people to hear. Long silences would pass before she would answer._

"_I'm sorry, but I'm not paying for that."_

_Silence…_

"_What do you mean I have no choice?" the woman jeered. _

"…"

"_Heh. I'm not paying for it."_

_There was a pause._

"_I'm sorry if your boss will be mad, but I did not order it, so I won't be paying for it." _

_Sakura gave off a very aggravated grunt._

"_LOOK, OKAY?" she finally yelled out, reaching her limits. "I. AM. NOT. PAYING. FOR. IT."_

_Sakura shook her head._

"_Says you." _

_Pause._

"_Whatever, the lobsters better be here by 7:30."_

_Pause._

"_Aha. Yeah. Fine." Letting out an annoyed growl, she hung up the phone. _

_You had to do everything by yourself nowadays…_

-

"Lock the door." The bride hissed.

She let out another deep sigh and carefully shut the fancy door, making sure that she took all of her goddamn precious time. "Wah… INO!" she screamed out. Upon entering the room, Haruno Sakura found herself in a very frozen and shocked state. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?"

"I don't know!" the blonde woman cried, rubbing at her swollen skin. Every inch of her face was covered with little pink and red dots… The woman obviously just got a nasty allergy attack, or she just had a massive pimple invasion!

Damn! Someone needed to get her some major cover up, and quick! …And maybe some Prozac…

"Oh my god… Ino…" She hurriedly ran towards the bride and unwillingly inspected her rashes. Slapping her hand away she glared at the blonde. "Stop scratching it, you idiot!"

"I can't help it!" she whined out, clearly in much discomfort.

Sakura took a step away from the contaminated woman and started hyperventilating. _'Holy shit… holy shit…what am I going to do?' _She knew her best friend well enough to know that she would rather die then go to her wedding looking like _that_.

She inhaled and exhaled, taking calming breaths. "It's okay, just tell me what happened." First things first, she needed to get to the bottom of this unwanted development.

"I don't know!" she yelled out, itching even harder.

"Stop that!" she forcefully pried the slender manicured nails off the flesh.

"Ugh…" she moaned in protest. "Sakura… what's wrong with me?"

"I really have no clue right now Ino. You have to tell me what happened first." She inhaled.

"I already did!" she screamed, "I have no idea what happened! One second I was all fine and normal and the next thing you know, I'm sporting disgusting red splotches all over my face! Ugh!" She reached out and began scratching behind her hair.

"That's it? It happened just like that? You didn't feel anything? Nothing stung you or anything?" She gasped, "You didn't burn yourself by accident did you?"

The blonde glared at her. "Of course not!"

"Then why?" she screamed out in desperation.

"I don't know? All I remember was feeling hot all over and being itchy!"

The maid of honor suddenly lost it. "Are you allergic to anything?" She shook her by the shoulders, trying to have her remember… "Anything at all?" her best friend wasn't that smart…

"No… Nothing that I know of!" the bride shrieked. "I can't believe this! Why? Why now? On my wedding day to say the least" She started to bawl, covering her scarred face with her hands.

"Shh… There, there." Sakura comforted her, gently rubbing her back. She instantaneously felt horrible for freaking out on the bride. "It'll be alright, I'm sure you just had an allergic reaction to something. I'll just go and call up Tsunade-sama and I'm sure she can heal it in a jiffy!" she smiled cheerfully, exchanging her worried expression to one in complete and total reassurance.

"Are - are you sure?" the bride hiccupped.

"Of course!" she exclaimed, giving her a nervous smile. "I'll be back in a sec, don't you worry!" Sakura gave Ino another pat and headed towards the door.

"Hurry back… Will you?"

She stopped and turned around. "No worries," she smiled, closing the door, making sure that it was tightly sealed. She didn't need another outburst of concerned women littering the place. That would be an extreme nightmare.

'Just breath Sakura-Chan… all you need to do is breath…'

She took another look at the white and purple door the bride was probably currently scratching herself behind. Why did everything have to be so difficult? Why did the dumb blonde have to have a hidden allergy attack? Why did it have to show up now?

She exhaled and rubbed her eyes warily. '_Now to focus on the matter at hand_.'

Her current mission was to find and capture her gambling addict sensei and force her to heal the godforsaken aggravating bride.

Oh Joy.

She had a wedding to save mind you! Regardless of the fact that this is her least favorite, least anticipated most dreaded, union. She let out a regrettable sigh… oh how her life sucked.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Did you hear?"

"Huh?"

"Something's wrong with the bride!" A middle-aged woman whispered.

"Oh my!"

"I know eh? I heard from Nina, who heard from Chiyo, who heard from Yura, who saw the bride!"

"What's wrong with her?" the blue eyed woman asked shocked.

Her friend Sarah looked at the floor, hushing her voice even further. Leaning closer in so no one could hear, even Tsunade, the latest eavesdropper, who had impeccable hearing had to strain to hear. "She has the chicken pox."

"Chicken poxes?"

"Shush." She nosy one hushed. "Yeah, you heard me, she got the virus."

The shock did not fully sink in before a thundering voice interrupted them.

"TSUNADE-SAMA!" A voice boomed throughout the hallway. "TSUNADE-SAMA!"

Sighing, the blonde headed Godaime rubbed her sore forehead. Somehow she knew that whatever this loud person wanted, it would not be good. She turned to see the two women widen their eyes and slant inwards, closer together, pointing and nodding, hearing the soft murmur of, "See I told you so." Shaking her head slightly she answered. "Hai?"

"Tsunade-sama!" a grateful voice sighed in reflex. "Thank heavens I've found you!"

It was Sakura.

"Tsunade-sama!" she whined. "Something happened, and I don't know what to do! I've never seen anything like it before, one moment and then the next and… and… OMG, she looks like a monst -"

Sealing her eyes shut, the twenty-year-old look-alike raised a youthful hand, silencing the jabber mouth. Taking her last, very long sip of her sake, savoring every drop, she replied jadedly, "I'm coming."

She tilted her head when she heard the pink head exhale deeply.

She smiled.

At times like these, all you can do was deal with it.

Besides, Chicken poxes wasn't that big of a deal. Let's just pray that the groom had them before.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sakura waited by the door tapping her foot impatiently, checking her watch every other second.

It was 5 o' clock.

The bride should have been doing her makeup by now.

Sliding her hand through her messy hair, Sakura cringed in disgust. She had to get ready too. Her hair was oily and unwashed. She needed to get her makeup done and put on her dress… and to top it all off; she had to deal with the polka dotted bride… Time was not on her side today.

Oh well, weddings were almost _always_ delayed. Right?

Sakura couldn't have hoped more than to have this be true. They were _way_ behind schedule. She could almost see the wedding planner killing her already.

So far, the far too stressed off wedding planner came up four times requesting to see the bride. Each time she was presented with excuses, her anger increased, and sooner or later, if Tsunade-sama did not heal Ino, Sakura's ass would be fried. Literally.

Giving off a grateful sigh, Sakura could not be happier to see her sensei walk through the purple door.

"How is she?" Sakura asked, concerned.

"Not good."

Sakura held in her breath.

"She's one nasty sick." Her sensei commented, clearly pissed. Obviously Ino had pushed too many buttons.

"Will she be alright?" Sakura said shakily. She closed her eyes, praying. Her whole life depended on this answer.

"Oh. She'll be fine." Tsunade smiled.

"Thank the lord." She exhaled.

"I cleared her skin, so it should heal completely in a few days."

"Oh… sensei… you're a life saver!" Sakura quickly pounced on her.

The Hokage chuckled. "No problem."

"Neh, Tsunade-sama? What was wrong with her?"

The Godaime gave Sakura a calculated stare.

"Neh sensei?"

"She had an allergic reaction… to shrimp." She said slowly.

She swallowed hard. "S-Shrimp?"

Oh Shit.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"One more hour bastard." A cheerful voice commented, putting on his jacket. "You ready?"

"…"

"Sasuke?"

"What?"

The man clicked his tongue, irritated. "You become more and more of an ass-hole everyday don't you?"

The groom shot the man a cold glare. "Shut up dope."

"Tch." he said, readjusting his tie. "Are you nervous?" Naruto scoffed teasingly.

"Heh." He snorted, "Only _you_ would be nervous."

"Hey! What's wrong with that?" he asked, putting up his hands defensively.

"Sissy."

"Bastard."

Sasuke chuckled deeply when he heard the hurt in Naruto's tone. "What's wrong? Nervous?" he mocked.

"Never!" Naruto retaliated.

"Heh." He repeated, going about getting ready. "Whatever."

"Neh Sasuke?"

"What?"

"It's 5 o' clock."

"Aa." The groom smirked.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Huffing and puffing, a tired looking woman was currently sitting on a chair trying to catch her breath.

"Sakura… It was your own fault you know."

Sakura threw her hairbrush at the speaker.

"Ow! Hey! Don't blame me!" A dark haired woman by the name of Tenten laughed.

"Maybe it was my fault but you could have helped you know!"

"Awe." Tenten pouted cutely. "What would be the fun in that?"

Sakura gave Tenten a horrible glare. "I, single handedly disposed of every GODDAMN SHRIMP in this place and _you_ COULDN"T EVEN HELP!" She shrieked.

"Um… Sakura-Chan, can you please keep your voice down?" a kind tone timidly squeaked.

"Oh. Sorry Hinata." She grinned.

"Ew. Sakura, go take a shower – you smell like shrimp."

The vein in Sakura's head started to pop. Damn that woman… Without another word to the pair, the eyebrow twitching pink head grimly walked towards the bathroom and started to wash up. She couldn't risk Ino having another allergic reaction to her shrimp smelly self. She just spent an hour dumping out the gigantic order of seafood for Christ's sake! She'll be damned before she causes another breakout.

"Hey Sakura! Hurry up! There is only one more hour before the wedding."

Tenten grinned when she heard the angry sound of a slamming door.

"What's her problem?" Tenten asked, smirking to Hinata.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

They were either waiting in silence, neither one talking, or bothering to start a conversation. They let the sweet sensation of stillness sweep over them. Leaning on the center burgundy couch, Uchiha Sasuke, the recent groom, and Uzumaki Naruto, recent best man, sat twiddling their thumbs together bored.

Both men dressed accordingly, donning on two expensive black suits with the traditional red ties. One looked rather fidgety and the other nonchalant. Messy light blonde hair swept back and dark tawny raven**-**black hair also swept up and combed.

They would exchange uneasy looks with each passing moment, neither one wanting to break the hard earned pristine silence. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the old antique center timepiece and the light taps of hastened footsteps leading out from the hallway.

"Neh Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked, breaking the unrecorded record.

"What is it?" He stiffly inquired.

"It's almost time." He said, looking up at the ancient grandfather clock with glee.

"Hn."

"It's almost 6."

The groom presented the moron with an uninterested stare. "Whatever."

Naruto looked down shyly at the flooring, playing with his hands. "Actually," he started. "I think I'm going to go down a bit early – maybe Hinata-Chan is there already."

"…"

"Bastard?"

"Comb your hair." Sasuke said indifferently, "It's embarrassing."

"W–Wha?" Naruto automatically ran his hand through his untidy hair. "It looks fine."

"Comb it." He repeated again.

"Never!" He said playfully, sticking out his tongue.

The groom sighed, fed up with his childish behavior. "Do it now or I'll get the banshee to do it for you."

Naruto gasped. "You can't!" he taunted. "It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

Sasuke's left eyebrow abruptly twitched. "Its bad luck that I already have to see your ugly face."

"Stupid bastard."

"Dimwit."

"Fine, whatever." Naruto said casually, moving towards the door. "You better be ready in 5 minutes."

"Hn."

"5 minutes." He scolded. "You better not be staring at your hideous mug the whole time."

Sasuke glared at the laughing Naruto.

"See you in a few, bastard." Naruto replied smiling, turning around.

"Dope." Sasuke said with an annoyed tone.

"What?"

"…"

When he got no reply, Naruto turned around to glare at the man with an ego bigger than the sun's. "Wha –"

_Thud._

The idiot was hit straight in the jaw with a comb.

Smirking, the groom turned around and faced the red-faced fox.

"SASUKE!" the blonde man screamed, outraged.

"You forgot it." He offhandedly stated.

The blonde man glared icily at him and stomped his way out of the room and down the hall. Grumpily repeating the same words under his breathe, "It's his wedding… wedding… calm down… his wedding…"

Sasuke could only smirk when counting down the seconds before the blonde would blow up.

"_3."_

"_2."_

"_1."_

"…"

"YOU BASTARD!"

"Heh." Sasuke chuckled darkly, pleased at the blonde's discontent.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"There!" A young woman announced proudly, staring at her creation. "You look beautiful!" She awed. "And just in the nick of time may I add." She smiled, winking.

The woman sitting in the chair hesitantly got up, stretching a bit from the last hour she spent sitting down. "I don't see what was wrong with me an hour ago!" she hissed evilly, pissed at having to sit through 60 minutes of hell. All the makeup and hair pulling was not worth it – in her opinion anyway… looking pretty wasn't something that Sakura tried to do… it just… came naturally. She was not used to the pain in her neck and back from sitting straight for so long.

Beauty was torture.

Damn guys. They would never know what some woman did to look beautiful…

Stupid cows.

"You stank of seafood and looked like a hobo." Tenten's voice answered coolly.

Rubbing her sore neck she jeered, "But I still looked prettier than _you_."

Her reply was a swift kick in the leg. "Shut up Sakura!" Tenten yelled.

Sakura couldn't help but let out a victorious smile. She won. Oh Hellz Yeah.

"What's wrong Tenten dear?" Her smooth voice asked teasingly. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"Bitch." Tenten whispered, whizzing past Sakura and heading out of the room.

"I know eh?" Sakura mocked quietly, staring at the slammed door.

"See if I do anything for you again!" an angry voice boomed from the hallway.

She grinned.

Haruno Sakura had fruitfully dished out her payback.

Revenge never tasted so sweet.

Laughing, the maid of honor took a step towards the full-length mirror…

'_And now to survey the damage.' _

"…"

She choked back an unexpected gasp.

This could not be her, who was staring wide-eyed at the mirror.

She banged her head mentally on the doorframe. She owed Tenten the biggest apology…

Maybe she should reconsider her earlier words… pain was a part of beauty? Wasn't it?

She had so much to think about now… and the image in front of her helped her forget… even for a minute.

Sakura absentmindedly twirled the tight fitting dress. It was very beautiful; she had to admit that much. Soft green and emerald ribbons, it was a beautiful combination. Her hair pulled back and tied up in two beautiful braids, clipped to the side of her face. She only just finished. Her shower took longer than expected.

She really did love this dress… but she knew that it would be hidden in her closet by the end of the day – never to be seen again. Or maybe it would be burned? Who knows? It all depended on her attitude later on. If she were to be angry, then it would probably be torn to shreds… If she were to be sad, then it would be folded and placed away as a reminder.

She really hoped that she would be mad.

She eyed the glittering gem that was dangling on her earlobes. Oddly enough, the striking sapphire matched perfectly with the deep emerald.

She narrowed her eyes at her stunning self. She had put it off for too long.

"Sakura!" a voice echoed up the stairs, startling the maiden. "It's 6'o clock. The wedding is about to begin."

The jade maiden stared wide-eyed at herself.

_This was it. It was really happening. The moment she was dreading for the past two weeks._

"Sakura!" Tenten's voice screamed at her. "We need you!"

Gulping back tears, the tall figure gave one last sorrowful glance before reacting.

_She had to do it now._

"I'm coming."

_Today was her wedding day._

"I'm sorry Ino…" she whispered into the silence, hurrying out of her room.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"You feel better?"

"Yes." A grateful voice answered, turning around from the mirror. "Much."

"Good." A worried Hinata said calmed, helping Ino with her makeup.

"Hinata?"

"Hmm?" She hummed softly in an assonance tone.

"Where's Sakura?"

Hinata stopped applying the blush. "I-I… I'm not sure." She stammered.

"Hmm…" Ino said all too idly.

"What's wrong?" Hinata questioned.

"Nothing…" She said robotically. "It's nothing…"

She stared at her reflection in the mirror, and saw the ticking clock behind her.

"It's almost time." She said softly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Step._

Her eyes widened at her luck. Someone was coming.

_Step._

She quickly ducked behind one of the hallway pedestals holding a large vase of vivid flora.

_Step._

She closed her eyes and prayed that whoever it was missed her.

_Step._

"Stupid bastard…" A fuming voice complained.

Sakura's eyes lightened… That voice… It belonged to…

"Damn egotistical asshole…" The same voice echoed.

Sakura took a peak out from behind her hiding place, and sure enough, saw the messy hair of Naruto ahead of her.

"Jerk…"

Sakura quickly concealed herself again, praying that he wouldn't find her. She blended in pretty well with the green stems so she wasn't that worried.

"Dumb loser…"

Sakura pulled a hand on her mouth to cover her harsh breathing sounds, as he strode past her, making his way down the stairs.

"Ass… HEY ICESTICK!" he yelled suddenly. "YOU GOT 5 MINUTES!"

Sakura inched further down the wall, fighting the sudden urge to roll her eyes.

"ICESTICK!"

_BOOM._

The slammed door scared her shitless, having gasped out loud in reflex. Thank goodness that the noise echoed, covering up her could-be**-**fatal mistake. She carefully took a peak around the bud vase and saw Naruto's retreating back. He seemed to accept this as a reply and hastily ran down the stairs three at a time, rushing to get to the ceremony.

Moving away from the handy hiding spot, Sakura inertly sweat dropped and gave her surroundings a quick acknowledgement of safety. She let out a small smile. "Thank you Naruto," she whispered softly. He had unknowingly led her to Sasuke-kun's room. The door slam was an obvious giveaway.

Looking franticly over her shoulders regularly Haruno Sakura could no longer afford any mistakes. Like Naruto had stated, there was only 5 minutes left… 5 precious minutes…

Picking up her pace Sakura rushed by the many doors making up time, often casting nervous looks behind, checking for unwanted roadways.

She sighed deeply when she came in sight of the oaken door the groom was residing behind. Taking another quick peek behind her, she smiled.

No one was following her.

The hallway was now empty.

Giving a frightened look, she stopped at a sturdy mahogany door.

'This is it, suck it in Sakura!'

She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes in concentration.

'_Okay. Let's go.' _She mentally urged herself onwards.

Knocking softly on the door she waited patiently.

"Come in." A deep voice answered.

Straightening up her clothes she gulped down her nervousness.

'You can do this!'

She pushed the door open and entered the room.

"Sasuke I have to talk to you."

* * *

**A/N:** Drools… Sasuke-kun is so tremendously hawt! Damn… I'm in love. XD Chapter 306 was awesome! Go read it.

**Happy Clicking.**

* * *

**(Y)?(Y)?(Y)**

**( -.- )(-. -)( -.-)**

**((")(")c((")(")c((")(")**

**Bunny POWER!**


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